Cove's 220 Gettin under way

[Cove Beach]

One thing about the pics with the lights on is that there is nothing to reflect light on the bottom yet so when i add sand it will brighten up even more! The ballasts have dimmers so that should help keep from roasting my corals when i add new ones.

 

[smmscott]

Some sand will arrive soon

 

[Cove Beach]

Cool, its first visitor! Bearing gifts!!

 

[jnarowe]

I wouldn't put sand in that one. The rocks are really nice.

 

[Cove Beach]

I'm gonna do a SSB to give my goby someplace to sleep

 

[smmscott]

That is an impressive setup. Very well laid out and usable. Kudos on the skimmer. I got home today and looked at my setup and want to redo a few things to make them easier like yours. Lets just get some life in there and things will be great.

 

[jnarowe]

hey, did the ballasts come with the mounting brackets, or did you DIY those?

 

[Cove Beach]

I wanted to thank Scott and Jen for coming over today and dropping off some sand for the tank on their way out to Salty Critter. The ballasts came with the brackets and they appear to be stainless. The ballasts have dimmers and the are silent and run slightly warm to the touch. I finished doing the permanent wiring of the secondary side of the ballasts, and painting the new wood i added to the canopy and the magnetic latches are installed. I may add one more latch in the center of the door as it does not seal as tight as i would like. Next thing is to come up with cooling fans and get those mounted. I figure 120mmx120mm and i want them to be quiet. So far the noisiest part of the system is the skimmer return which will get a sock on it soon, as will the drains from the display.

 

[Cove Beach]

Loose ends

Loose ends

Well i got most all of the stuff done i mentioned earlier including and extra project. I made all the permanent connections to the hood for the MH lighting.

I also made covers for the overflows to keep the salt in the water and not on everything else. Another reason is i will be putting my cooling fans in the openings by the overflows, and i don't want them covered in salt.

I did add 3 magnetic latches to the hood but figured it wasn't worth a picture. My last addition was a project i have been tossing around for a week or so. Due to the thickness of material i chose to use for the main body of my skimmer, i was experiencing some deflection of the sides. The more i looked at it, the more nervous it made me. So i fabricated a brace system that has all but eliminated the deflection. I decided to use Lexan for the bracing to avoid the brittleness of regular acrylic. Here is the braced revision.

And lastly here is what its pulling for foam at the moment. My Amm. level is hovering at .25ppm.

 

[Cove Beach]

Latest additions

Latest additions

I figured since i didn't win anything in the raffle last night and had nothing to acclimate, i might as well work on getting a sand storm going in my 220. Here is a pre- sandstorm pic in BB trim.

Here are pictures from the day after with flash and after i pushed a bunch of sand around with a couple special tools. One was a hacked together PVC gravel grader and my new favorite sandscaping too a modded Maxijet 1200 (handheld sand blower). I used a section of 4" PVC pipe to transfer sand to the bottom of the tank mostly in the front , so i needed to get it spread to the back(not easy). The grader i made allowed me to push it half way but i needed something better. Enter MJ Mod, it moved the sand but it sure turned the tank into coffe looking water.

So just for fun here are a couple pics with the halides on.

Right now the water is fairly clear, seems to take about 2 hrs to undo what takes me 2 mins. with the maxijet.

 

[Kreeger1]

Lookin good man!

 

[Cove Beach]

Refugium online finally

Refugium online finally

Since i got the sand bed in the DT and i was starting to see a bit of a diatom bloom, i figured i'd better get my refugium up and running. The tub has been full and tied into the system since the start. When i decided to put the sand in i just shut down the frag\fuge loop and dumped it in. I did get some crud on the surface so i put a sock on the output to catch the big stuff then removed it once the water cleared. I want to thank the folks that replied to my request for macro, some offers coming from as far as Kent! I did get some from markviiisvt4 plus a tour of his setup, including some really different sponges he has growing. Well once i got the macro i needed some light. First thought was a spiral bulb in a work light. It didn't really do much in the 40gal tub. So plan B, i remembered i had the 6' strip light that came with the 220. I cut it in half, extended a wire or two and relocated the power switch and bolted the two halves together with 1/4-20 bolts. To make removal easy i strung 18ga teflon coated wire across each end and tied it to the stand. I also recycled some plumbing parts from my old OTT CL and a macro barrier out of eggcrate. Here are the results.

Here is a picture of the amount of light and the quickey light sheild (Hefty Bag doubled up) i made up to keep my skimmer from becoming a second refugium.

I'm hoping to aquire some other varieties of macro and will probably toss in some LR soon.
In the next week i plan on adding a couple more valves so i can isolate my frag tank to be used as a hospital\QT tank and still run the refugium.

 

[ReefWidowed]

Looking good!!

 

[Cove Beach]

Hey Jen the sand in the fuge should look familiar, its the stuff you guys brought over. Thanks again.

 

[Cove Beach]

Clear water update

Clear water update

I'd like to thank Bosworth for the macro and all the critters it contained. I now have a good start for my fuge. i think i counted 10 or 12 micro stars. I took a couple pics of the tank without flash to give an idea of the coverage i am getting with the new lights. As far as i can see the only dark area is directly under the big overhang. I am very happy i didn't go with 400s(Mike660r suggestion)otherwise i would have to dip my fish in SPF 400.

 

[Fdfiremedic]

Wow Nice set up so far. I would like to see it in person.

 

[Cove Beach]

You are welcome to stop out, just give me call.

 

[Cove Beach]

A small step forward was made tonight! After being on vacation for two weeks, i came back to a stable system. So i decided to start moving fish tonight into the big tank. The first to be moved were the tank raised clowns (easiest to catch), and then my Sailfin Tang. The clowns being tank raised have no fear at all and have settled in well, playing in the wash from the returns and modded Maxi-jets. The Sailfin stayed in one end while i had the lights on but started to explore once the tank was in night mode. i hope to finish emptying out my 75 this weekend if everything stays stable.

 

[findingnemo2]

This is so beautiful! This is the size tank I want to get in the future. I couldn't decide on a 180 or this one and now I know. Love the light setup and how easy you made it look to do. How tall is the canopy? Anyway, just had to tell you how much I love it and can't wait to see it stocked as I know you can't either! LOL!

 

[Cove Beach]

Another update

Another update

Well with the passing of the 75 i have been able to round out the needed equipment for the 220. In the last couple days i have installed the Reefkeeper2, Tunze Osmolator,mix and heat for the SW mixing tank. Today i installed the cooling fans in the canopy and cleaned up the cable routing on the wall. I have yet to get my calcium reactor online, but it is in place and waiting to be plumbed into the system. I also re- plumbed the drain and feed line to my frag system so that i can isolate it from the system for QT, while maintaining flow to my refugium. After doing some cleaning i will add a pair of Tunze 6045s to the frag tank and a heater for possible winter use or QT.The system is showing some algae in the display despite a large wad of macro in the refugium. otherwise all animals are doing well and eating. One interesting note the yellow toadstool that i grew from a very small frag, which was light brown with yellow polyps has turned to to almost a purple with light green polyps under the new lights. Its still not as inflated as usual but i was kinda rough with it removing it from the rock it was on, so we shall see. I'll try to get a few pictures up soon.